Reversi
by Scykra
Summary: They never told me that becoming an adventurer meant I had to put up with annoying stalkers. "How do you know my name?" "What kind of shitty stalker would I be if I didn't?" - CO-FIC BY SCYKRA AND KAI - Discontinued
1. Roumen

Okay. So Kai and I started to write a new fanfic about an MMORPG game called Fiesta Online. I've been having writer's block later which is why I haven't been able to update KNY or PDH. Kai is the writer and plotter, while I'm the researcher, plotter, and description/battle scene schemer.

~Ryuu

_Don't kill me, I'm still updating ODL for those who were hoping for an update on that. This is just a bit of a break from all that to get my ideas organized while I'm kind of in a Fiesta mood. :D_

_-Kai  
><em>

**Disclaimer: We do not own Fiesta Online, NPCs, Sam, and the quests, but we do own our characters and ideas.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Roumen<strong>

"... I'm so fucking lost right now..." I groaned in frustration, crumpling up the map in my hand. Shoving it back into my brown satchel, I climbed to the top of the staircase and surveyed the town below me.

Shingled houses stood side by side, with shop owners standing outside their stores happily conversing with the crowds around them. A lighthouse shone brightly, a pale blue ship rocking in the sea. I dodged the people rushing past me, all eager to nab the best quests and items. A magnificent fountain, with four dolphins in the middle facing in different directions, sprouted from the center of the town. The most peculiar sight was a revolving mirror with a electric blue center. Smoky wisps curled out from it. I stared at it for a moment longer, tempted to ask about it, but decided to stick to my original intention: become an adventurer.

I glanced down as I saw a woman at the bottom of the staircase waving at me. I took a deep breath and made a flying leap to the bottom, skidding to a halt. I whistled and checked the soles of my shoes, wincing when I saw that they were smoking and fading away.

Which reminded me. I really needed to go shopping.

I looked up at the woman and gave her a sheepish grin. She returned it with a kind smile, her light brown eyes almost dazzling with happiness. I took a step back to study this woman better, remembering to be cautious around strangers in an unfamiliar place.

She had long, wavy, pumpkin orange hair trailing down her back, tied back by a large red ribbon. The hair framing her face were tied up in two low ponytails. Her clothes were modest: a puffed out, long-sleeved dress with a sleeveless beige trench coat over it.

"You're new here aren't you?" she said, clasping her hands together. "I've never seen you before, and I know everyone in Roumen."

"Uh..." I glanced around at the huge crowds of people in town and seriously doubted that she could name every single adventurer. "Yeah... I'm new." She tilted her head, still smiling at me, as if she was expecting something.

"... My name is Silva Yin?" I tried. There was no harm in giving out my name. She seemed kind enough, if a bit creepy, and Roumen was well-known for being the most peaceful town in Isya. That's why most adventurers started out in Roumen and not Elderine, where it was much more crowded and crime infested. Roumen also had the weakest monsters around, some of which I've already defeated on my way here, despite having zero training.

"Nice to meet you Silva Yin. I am Element Helper Remi. It's my job to help out people new to Roumen." She gestured to the people surrounding us, all muttering to themselves and wondering when they would be able to talk to Remi.

"Don't worry, they'll all wait their turn," she said reassuringly. She half turned and smiled at the group with full power.

They all backed off a few meters, suddenly interested in the clouds or their feet.

"Wonderful!" She clapped her hands together and turned back to me. I resisted the urge to inch away and returned her beaming smile with a nervous grin.

"So, Silva Yin, are you planning to become an adventurer or are you simply moving to Roumen?" The smile was wiped off my face, a more wary expression on my face. The way she kept using my full name and the questions she asked made me feel like I was in an interrogation.

"Adventurer," I answered tersely.

"Very nice," she said in a soothing tone, sensing my wariness of her. "I'll provide you with some tips that should come in handy on your journey through Isya." I nodded curtly to let her know that I was listening. Absently, I wondered how many times she repeated this speech a day. From the looks of the people still staring at the clouds, they were all adventurers as well.

Man, Remi's job must suck.

"First of all, the villagers, such as the shopkeepers, are all very friendly and whom you'll go to in order to receive your quests. Be sure to become good friends with them. This applies to other towns as well." She dug into the pocket of her trench coat and pulled out a round, dull stone. She held it out and I took it, somewhat curious. I flinched and nearly dropped it as a searing hot pain jolted through my system for a fraction of a second. The stone flashed a bright white before settling on a metallic, semi-glowing silver.

"What the fuck was that?" I demanded, jabbing a finger at the stone lying innocently in the palm of my hand. She blinked, taken back by my sudden vulgar language, and then the annoying smile reappeared.

"If you attach this stone to your weapon, it will allow you to mark a specific monster," she explained. "This way you can target one monster without accidentally provoking another. Many of the more experienced adventurers choose to fight without the stone, instead testing their worth against many monsters at once. The stone changes color according to its user."

"Uh huh," I drawled in monotone, bouncing the stone in the palm of my hand. "Anything else you need to warn me about before it burns me?"

"Here is the standard pack for adventurers." She handed me a brown pack that looked almost exactly like my own. The only difference was that it was slightly larger. "It can only carry a fixed amount of items. You can purchase a larger bag if you wish to. I've put 104 coppers in one of the pouches to help you get started."

"Is that all?" I asked, stuffing my smaller satchel into the new pack. I shouldered it and stared straight into her brown eyes.

"Yes." She nodded at my bag. "Now that you're all set to go, I will assign you your first mission to let you get to know Roumen. Go to Healer Julia and talk to her for a reward. Healer Julia can be found at the top of the staircase."

I thanked her and moved over to the side to let the other beginning adventurers talk to Remi. I set the bag down and threw all my belongings into the new satchel, and after a moment of consideration, pulled out the weapons I had brought from home. Everybody else was running around with their weapons anyways, so it wouldn't be too strange to wear them.

I sat back on my heels and admired the claws for a moment before pulling them on. They weren't the fanciest ones, but they were made in my hometown where we had rarely been troubled by monsters and the like, and as such weapons usually weren't necessary. They had a circular band for the person to slide onto their wrist, with a leather backing for the back of my hand. From it protruded three long claws. I found a niche in the backing of the right hand claw and slipped the stone Remi had given me into it. It fit perfectly, and I could've sworn that I had heard a _click_.

I chucked my old pack into a nearby trash can before ascending the stairs. Healer Julia wasn't hard to spot, since her appearance was rather unique, and many people crowded around her. I almost wondered why nobody in this town felt claustrophobic.

I observed the healer from a distance, waiting patiently for people to move out of my way. Her long hair was sky blue and tied up into high, wavy pigtails with her bangs swept to the left and curling around to frame her face. Her face had a somewhat boyish appearance, contradicting her clothes. She wore jester-like clothing in the colors of lavender, baby blue, and cool blue.

Finally, there was only a single person that stood in my way. Impatient to get on with actual quests, I shouldered past the boy, who yelped in protest but got swept away by the crowd.

"Hi, I'm Julia, a Healer," she chirped, a peppy expression on her face. "I sell Health (HP) Stones and Spirit (SP) Stones. Well..." She paused and stared at me.

"Silva Yin," I told her. Did _everyone_ know everybody else's name in this town!

"Well, Silva Yin, what kind of stone do you need?" she finished, daintily bringing a hand to her face as she giggled.

"Ah... Element Helper Remi sent me here to talk to you, " I explained. She nodded her understanding and stuck her hands in her pockets, pulling out a few items to hand me as a reward for completing my "quest." I raised an eyebrow. Did everyone in town have magical pockets, or was it just these two ladies?

"Here you go!" She handed me 52 coppers and spread out five purple scrolls in front of me. "These are skill scrolls. You can use them to learn new skills, but most of them are specific to only one class. I have one scroll for each class. So are you a Fighter, Mage, Archer, Cleric, or Trickster?"

"Trickster..." I picked up the last scroll on the right and she put away the others.

"Well, now that you've completed your first quest, you've gained a bit of experience and fame," Julia announced cheerfully. "The stone on your weapon keeps track of that too. The more experience you get, the more you level up. And when you get to higher levels, you can learn stronger skills."

"And fame?" I questioned, slipping the money and scroll into my pack.

"That makes you more popular," she answered with a shrug. "I think there's other uses, but they're not at the top of my head right now."

"Alright... thanks for your time, then." I turned to leave when she called out to me.

"Do you know how to use your HP Stones and SP stones?" She pointed at a pouch on my satchel. "Remi should've given you some."

"I'll figure it out," I grin at her, waving a careless hand. I snapped my wrist back, wincing sheepishly at the woman I had almost cut with my claws. She glared at me and continued walking.

"Er... Yeah... Thanks, Julia, I think I should go now..."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later, Silva Yin!"

I wandered off down the street, wondering why the hell everybody called me by my full name. Have they never heard of last names before? First names should be sufficient for anybody.

"Silva Yin!"

"Oh, god dammit."

I turned to the source of the voice and saw a man that I had never seen before waving at me. He, like about everybody else in Roumen, had a crowd of people surrounding me. I heaved a sigh and dragged my feet over to the man, annoyed at being pulled around by adults I didn't even know.

"So who are you and how do you know my name?" I muttered impatiently, studying the old man. Despite his white hair, slicked back and tied up in a small ponytail, and mustache that indicated that he wasn't the youngest man in Roumen, his back was ramrod straight in perfect posture. He had on a lime green aristocratic shirt with blue designs, white gloves, and dark lavender pants.

"I am Weapon Title Merchant Zach," he introduced. "I sell weapon title licences for adventurers, but that isn't what I called you over for."

"I asked you a question, Merchant Zach," I said bluntly. "I'd like an answer."

"News of new adventurers travels quickly in Roumen," he replied. "We all like to get acquainted with new people."

"... But I just got here five minutes ago and I haven't even gone _near_ this side of town..."

"Yes, well... In any case," he waved off the issue and continued on, "Silva Yin, I need your help."

"And what could you possibly need me for?" I gestured around to the higher leveled adventurers all around me. "You could ask any one of them to help."

"Ah, but they're all too high leveled for this quest," he answered knowingly, and perhaps even a bit smugly, as if he knew what I was going to ask and felt superior because of it. "They all refused to take this quest because it would not benefit them in any way, but it's perfect for a beginner like you."

I raised an eyebrow.

"... They've all already taken this quest, haven't they."

The merchant coughed suspiciously and I gave him my best '_you-are-not-amusing-me_' stare.

"Well, anyways, this quest should be simple enough," he rumbled, regaining his composure. "I need you to defeat five Slimes, five Mushrooms, and three Imps."

"... Why?"

Zach stared at me as if he had never heard the word uttered before.

"_Why_?'" he repeated incredulously. "Are you refusing the quest?"

"No. I mean, sure I'll be glad to help out," I shrugged. "I'd just like to know why you're sending me to go kill some monsters in the first place. Sure, the monsters are probably ugly shit and scare the crap out of you guys, but nobody sends adventurers out to kill monsters with no reason. Even if it were possible to gather all of us up, we still wouldn't be able to wipe out all the monsters, so unless you give me another adequate reason, I see no reason to depart on this quest."

I'll admit, me rambling then had something to do with me being severely allergic to Mushrooms, fungi and all types of the monster both. I wanted to avoid Mushrooms at all costs, or at least get stronger so that other people would be willing to party with me and help me kill them.

"Never in all my years have I ever been asked by an adventurer _why _I wanted to send them on a quest," the merchant muttered to himself, tugging at his mustache. "I suppose I'll have to start explaining my dilemma before handing out quests... But honestly, most are content to simply go and receive their reward..."

I crossed my arms and drummed my fingers impatiently on my forearm. With all my heart and mind, I was thinking at him, _hurry the hell up and explain this unreasonable madness to me_,_ old man_.

"The monsters have been bothering the civilians for a while now," he shrugged. "I would deal with them myself, but I'm currently busy with my work, as you can tell by all the people crowding around us, and you seemed to be free. So I thought I should send you on your first quest, and a relatively easy one at that."

"... Are you serious," I said in monotone. "_That _is your brilliant reason as to why I should run off and..." I cut myself off. My allergy was embarrassing if nothing else. Who's ever heard of someone almost dying from touching a mushroom?

"You said you would take the quest, so off you go," he said, shooing me away. "I have a business to conduct. I'll be ready with your reward whenever you're finished."

"Okay," I muttered to no one in particular, seeing as he had turned his back on me to talk to a customer. I sighed and wandered off, wandering how the hell I was going to do this quest.

* * *

><p><em> I grunted as I hacked down my last Blue Crab. Its corpse left behind a Blue Crab Meat. Opening my bag, I counted the amount of meat I now had in total: twelve. Mission finished. Time to head back to Roumen to receive my reward.<em>

_My feet pounded the sand, sending clouds of it flying out behind me. I dodged and weaved between the Honeyings, all too preoccupied with other adventurers on a quest to hunt them down to bother with me. I leaped over a final one, ignoring its squeaks of surprise, and my feet hit the grass. I was now safely in the forest and began to slow down when I heart grunts of anger._

_I planted my foot down and pivoted, whirling around to face a group of Little Hobs. They howled and raised their weapons, pacing towards me with sneers on their faces. I raised my claws, ready to fight back._

_Perfect, I thought. I can complete the quest for the Despicable Little Ones as well._

_I didn't give them the chance to attack first, instead activating my Lacerate skill. I leaped up and jabbed a Little Hob in the chest, my claws glowing black for a moment as I collected its soul. I heard a crunch from behind and struck out my free hand, hearing rather than seeing the enemy's head drop to the floor. I leaped back to avoid a swipe, then dashed back into the fray, taking another Little Hob's soul with a Claw Swipe, swiftly slashing through the monster._

_I pulled my weapons out from the body, ignoring the blood that spurted onto my clothes, and went on to slash at the next Little Hob. Its corpse fell to the ground and I found myself facing the last one, not a trace of fear on its face despite seeing its comrades fall to the ground._  
><em> Monsters will remain monsters after all.<em>

_I took a deep steadying breath and readied my final skill. My claws began to glow blue and yellow with tints of orange, and I slashed down in an X, destroying the Little Hob with my Razor Claw before it had a chance to blink._

_I wiped off the last traces of blood from my claws and adjusted my pack before continuing on my way back to Roumen to receive my rewards._

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><p>I kicked at a Slime and it gave a piteous squeak, fading into the ground. Barely giving the Slime corpse a second thought, I scooped up the HP Potion (Tier 1) that it had dropped and slipped it into my pack.<p>

I had just been about to look for my next victim when I saw a purple walking monstrosity. With a yelp, I jumped up and dug my claws into the nearest tree, scrambling my way up to a safe distance.

I glowered at the Mushroom as it hopped around stupidly, refusing to go away. It was at times like these that I wished I had chosen to become an Archer or a Mage, something that could kill at a distance.

Fucking Mushrooms.

The portal leading to Sand Beach, composed of a couple of floating green boulders and a glowy blue light, flashed white as someone teleported into Roumen. I watched on with interest to see what kind of adventurer it would be. Being only Level 2 at the moment, despite spending so much time killing Slimes while wondering how I was going to kill the Mushrooms, I was still three levels away from being able to enter Sand Beach.

The pack on his back was a telltale sign that he was an adventurer. Judging from the curved claws on his wrists, he was a Trickster like myself. I also recognized his clothes to be that of the Trickster type: a white, wide-rimmed turtleneck with an orange and blue pattern on the sides of the shirt that reached down to the waist; black shorts with beige spikes edged with blood red and a silver buckle; two similar red belts crossing over each other which were held together by a silver diamond-shaped buckle; red and black boots with two buckles on hair was a deep blue in slicked back spikes, and from what I could tell, his eyes were brown, sharp and alert.

He ran ahead to town, slicing up the Mushroom (like Mushroom sushi, ew) without a single glance, only stopping to pick up the SP Potion (Tier 1) it left behind.

When he was safely out of sight and hearing, I dropped down from the tree with a rustle of leaves and a thump, landing in a half-kneeling, half-crouching position. I straightened up and stared at the pitiful remains of the Mushroom, the pieces dissolving before my very eyes.

I picked up some Old Spirit Dust the boy - man? He had appeared to be around my age, maybe older, in that awkward transition stage between teen and adult - had left behind and rolled it back and forth between my hands.

All of a sudden, a grin spread across my face. Maybe, just maybe, there was a possibility I could still party with someone and have them kill the Mushrooms for me.

I dropped the Old Spirit Dust next to the dissipating corpse and took off after the other Trickster.

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><p><em>I had been collecting my rewards from Merchant Zach when I first noticed it.<em>

_Layered, light purple hair, bored, half-lidded cool grey eyes, clothes and weapons of a novice Trickster... I had worn those clothes once. She was one in a thousand of similar women, nothing strange or peculiar about her. And I was sure I had never seen her before._

_I thanked Merchant Zach with a nod and pocketed the coppers and scroll. I began to walk off to Ancient Templar Maria to finish my Blue Crab Dish quest when I heard footsteps._

_Footsteps were natural. People were everywhere, and none of them were standing still. But these footsteps seemed deliberate, paced. I stopped, they continued on in a different direction for a few more steps and paused as well. I went on walking, they hesitated before following._

_It might've been me being paranoid, but I trusted my intuition. My master had taught me that. I half turned and glared behind me from the corner of my eye. I saw a sea of unrecognizable faces... There. The purple-haired girl, hair so short she could've been thought of as a boy, talking to Item Merchant Pey. It could've been a coincidence, and it probably was. People in Roumen moved as they wished and it wasn't uncommon to see the same faces following you for a while._

_I turned and continued on my way, ignoring the _tap tap tap_ of underlying footsteps, always following me. When I finally reached the lighthouse, where Ancient Templar Maria stood, I whirled around in annoyance and found that the footsteps had stopped, and the girl's face was gone._

_"Is something the matter?" the templar asked, and I shook my head no and handed over the Blue Crab Meat. She took it with thanks and handed over 103 coppers. I pulled out my targeting stone, a dull black with a golden light glowing from within, and watched as it registered numbers in silver script. I gained 364 experience points and 13 fame. A cyan blue ring glowed bright on the ground around me, stretching up into a hollow column. Then, suddenly, the light was gone, and the stone read that I had reached level 10._

_"Finally..." I let out a relived breath. Maria heard and she asked curiously, in the way that people are bound to do. And when I answered, I was already halfway to the fountain, needing to talk to Roumenus._

_"I can return to Elderine..."_

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><p>It's amazing what ridiculously stupid quests they can come up with. 900 coppers in total just for listening to people talk. Parties I already knew about - who didn't? - and guilds seemed unimportant. I didn't even know what the Holy Promise was about and I was pretty sure I didn't care.<p>

I finished up these "quests" and then continued looking for the boy with the spiky blue hair and brown eyes. I found him at the fountain, talking to the town chief. I stopped nearby and bent down, pretending to slip my shoes on properly, straining my ears. Finally, their conversation broke in on me.

"-level 10 already!" the boy growled. "Chief Roumenus, forgive my rudeness, but it's a given that all adventurers that reach level 10 are allowed to travel to Elderine."

"Zorark, I understand your eagerness, but you're one of Roumen's strongest warriors," the chief explained as patiently as he could. He interrupted when the boy Zorark, Roumenus had called him, opened his mouth to protest.

"I know that there are many more high-leveled adventurers, but you're strong and you've leveled up at a record speed. The King Slime Kingdom is rising, and we need you to help us fight."

"I can fight from Elderine," Zorark answered stubbornly. Town Chief Roumenus let out a long-suffering sigh, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, Zorark, but I'm afraid I can't let you go until you reach level 11."

Brown eyes glared long and hard at the older man fiddling with his mustache.

"Fine," the blue-haired boy snapped. "Fine. Level 11? I'll see you in two hours."

Zorark took off, turning his back on a sighing Roumenus, and I followed, wondering why he was so desperate to go to Elderine.

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><p><em>Level 11, he says. Not until you reach level 11. When he had let Sam, who had gained levels even faster than I had, enter Elderine at level 10. When he had promised me that all adventurers that had reached level 10 were allowed into Elderine.<em>

_White hot fire consumed me, went straight to my fist that was clenched so tight that my nails were digging through my skin, drawing blood._  
><em> Level 10 isn't enough. Not until you reach level 11.<em>

_Fine. Fine. He wants more? I'll give him more._

_I'll crank it up to the eleventh level. To the twelfth, the thirteenth. I'll take it to fifteen then thirty then seventy five and a hundred. Two hundred, two thousand, it doesn't matter. Numbers could never stop me from achieving my goal._

_Nothing could._

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><p>It would be nice to have some reviews, just so we know if everyone likes it.<p>

~Ryuu

_Remember, this story was written and posted on a whim. :D Thanks for reading!  
><em>

_-Kai  
><em>


	2. Forest of Tides

So, second chapter is out now. xD Hope you guys like it.

~Ryuu

_:D More stalking plz!_

_-Kai_

**Just to clear things up:**

_"Italicized Text" =_ Zorark's POV

"Non-Italicized" = Silva's POV

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><p><strong>Chapter 2:<strong> **Forest of Tides**

King Crab. He was on a quest to kill the King Crab. See, these are what real quests are supposed to be like.

The King Crab... Well, that brought back bad memories. I used to live with my family in a small rural town near the ocean, so tales of the King Crab had always terrified us. I had encountered one once, half dead from an adventurer who had decided it was too hard to kill, but all the more furious because of it. I hadn't known that crabs could move so quickly before that day. Luckily, a party of adventurers had chanced upon me and defeated the King Crab, and their Cleric healed me with no questions asked. I refused to go near the beach alone from that day onwards.

But Zorark seemed strong and I was sure that he was more than capable enough to kill the King Crab on his own. So when he entered the portal to the Forest of Tides, I let him get a bit of a headstart before following him in. Luckily, I was at level 2, barely high enough to enter.

When I reappeared on the grass, Zorark was nowhere to be seen. I scanned the forest with a half smile on my face, simultaneously annoyed and pleased with how challenging it was to keep track of him. I knew he couldn't have gotten too far, and he had to return to the Roumen portal sooner or later, and honestly, I wasn't very eager to return to a beach, so I opted to stay near the gate and slay Imps.

I hadn't expected him to come through the gate _after _me, though. Apparently it took some people longer to get through the portal. Perhaps the teleporting system got overloaded sometimes, I wouldn't know. As soon as I saw him materialize from the gate, though, I dived behind the nearest hill, never mind that I ran into a Hero Slime and ended up rolling into an Imp.

Which was good, in a way, I suppose. It might've been my imagination or paranoia, but I thought that he was aware of me following him. I think that seeing me engaged in a tough battle with two monsters set his mind at ease, though. What kind of spy would fight monsters on the job, anyways? A spy that didn't worry about letting their target get away.

I admit, I was eager to see him in battle again, but I decided to sacrifice my curiosity to let Zorark pass by without suspicions. I still had to work out how I was planning to ask to join his party, after all.

* * *

><p><em>She was stalking me, no doubts about it.<em>

_Seeing the exact same person everywhere around town, and then seeing that same person enter the same area as me only milliseconds after I had entered the exact same gate... The chances were minuscule. So she had to be following me. I couldn't fanthom why, but a few assumptions formed in my mind as I watched her kill an Imp and Hero Slime with little difficulty, less than you'd expect from a beginner._

_The first reason was that she was a stalker, simple as that. It wasn't uncommon, per say, but there were definitely more plausible possibilities that I considered as I ran off towards the beach._

_For one, she could have simply been an inexperienced adventurer looking to follow the footsteps of a stronger one. While not necessarily the best move, seeing as how she could've been killed several times had I chosen to gone to Sand Beach to complete this quest, it might seem logical for a novice._

_Another reason, I realized, slaying a Fire Mushroom, could be that she had taken on a quest too difficult for her level and needed someone more powerful to assist her. This was possible. Many people followed others to see what the person was like before deciding to join their party. Hasty alliances could lead to disastrous battles, after all._

_With these two possibilities in mind, I decided to let her follow me until I ran out of patience. I could ignore her long enough, so long as she was only following me and not interfering with my battles._

_I kicked a Slime out of the way and my feet hit sand._

* * *

><p>I think I ran out of monsters to kill that weren't of the Mushroom type.<p>

By now I had just reached level 3. And I _still_ hadn't completed my first quest. I continue to blame the Mushrooms.

And so here I was, sitting by the gate and waiting for more monsters to appear. I had taken care to stay well away from the Mushrooms, but Slimes, Imps, and Hero Slimes can only give you adequate experience for only so long.

I was very, very bored. Also, Zorark was late.

It was almost sunset already, and still no traces of him. As far as I knew, I was sitting in front of the only portal that led from the Forest of Tides to Roumen, but I might've been mistaken. I had just started wondering if it would be better for me to simply return to town when there was a flash, a crackle, and a thump behind me.

Surprised, I yelped and whirled around to fine Zorark coughing, in a kneeling position, and surrounded by black smoke. With a nervous smile on my face, I approached him warily, preparing to ask if he was alright when he looked up with a glare.

* * *

><p><em>It was her, no doubt. Short, layered violet hair with bangs swept to the left, hidden by a black hood from a jacket with beige triangles bordering the edges and clasped together at the collarbone; red strap across her chest; beige shorts with black diamonds and a red edge, held up by a red belt; black boots with red straps. Yes, it was her alright.<em>

_What was she doing here? She wasn't supposed to be high leveled enough to be at the beach. Well, smart persons would have stayed away. She could've been killed by a King Crab... My head snapped up as I finally took in my surroundings. I wasn't at the beach anymore. I was at the forest, in front of the gate leading to Roumen. My mind registered that she was talking to me._

"_... alright? Hello?" She held a hand out to me, claws pulled off so as not to injure me. I swatted it away and straightened up with a groan, trying to remember what had happened._

"_Well, you're fucking nice," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. I ignored her, planning to confront her about her stalking issues later. First I had to..._

_Then it all came back to me. A party of adventurers had begun attacking the King Crab I had patiently staked out, leading me into a blind fit of rage... The party had fled and I had been injured after my victory against the King Crab when a Blue Crab had creeped up and killed me._

_So here I was, revived by the targeting stone... and missing half the experience points I had gained since reaching level 10. And I had been _so_ close to level 11 too... With a snarl of rage, I pounded my fist into the ground and swore to destroy the next Blue Crab I saw._

"_Hello, Mr. Magic-man-with-the-anger-issues, can you hear me now?" a lethargic voice drawled. "I'm asking you if you're okay."_

"_... Magic man?" I repeated warily, not trusting myself to keep calm. Anger was bubbling up inside of me, and how long I could keep it contained was a matter of self control._

"_You appeared out of nowhere," she answered with a shrug, gesturing at the smoking grass I was standing on. "What do you expect me to think?"_

"_When an adventurer is killed by a monster, the targeting stone revives them," I explained slowly. This was basic knowledge... just how new was she at this?_

"_... Well, now I feel stupid," she said with a sheepish grin. "If I can just die then I guess this isn't that big of a problem."_

_ "You'll lose half of your experience points you've gained for your current level, though," I added, before she got any reckless ideas. "Now I have something to ask _you_. Why are you follo-"_

_ I broke off and caught a HP Potion (Tier 1) with surprise, my claws clacking together. She shrugged nonchalantly._

_ "You're at low health right now, right?"_

_ "I could set up my house and heal that way," I pointed out, but I accepted the potion with thanks._

_ "... House?"_

_ I lowered the empty potion bottle from my lips and stared at her incredulously, wondering just how uninformed a person could be and still survive._

_ "Er, never mind," she muttered hastily. "You wanted to ask me something before." I discarded the useless bottle and watched as it disappeared into the ground._

_ "Why are you following me?"_

* * *

><p>Well, shit. So apparently he <em>did<em> know that I had been observing him. And now I couldn't even come clean about my reason why, since my idea was rendered obsolete by the new knowledge that I could die an infinite amount of times. It wasn't like losing experience points were a problem for me either: I had just reached level 3 and had nothing to lose.

So now my new plan to kill Mushrooms was this: approach, attack, die, revive, approach, attack, die, revive, repeat as necessary until one finally dies. It would take a while, but this way I wouldn't have to bother anyone. Problem was, I had already bothered Zorark.

And now he was glowering at me (as if he had any _other_ default expression) and waiting for my reply. I had no choice but to take a deep breath and explain my embarrassing condition with Mushrooms and apologize for the trouble.

His face remained blank as I considered my options. I could go with my new plan of recycle and revive, but that would take too long. Merchant Zach wasn't going to wait forever. But now that I had a chance to understand Zorark's personality a bit, I doubted that he would agree to allow me to create a party with him.

I also remembered the golden rule of trying to get different classes of adventurers in your party to keep balanced. There were, of course, some class-exclusive parties, but these weren't usually as successful or had no teamwork. So Zorark definitely would refuse to work with me, especially since I was at a much lower level.

But I didn't want to die over and over and over and Zorark was the only other person I knew, so Zorark it would have to be.

Unexpectedly, he asked me a question.

"What is your name?"

It took me a moment of blinking to comprehend what he had just said, and then I blurted out, "Silva Yin!" I covered my mouth with my hand, biting my tongue to prevent myself from doing something stupid again, and saw that my target stone had registered that I had gained more fame points.

He stared at the silver colored stone and I noticed his, strapped onto his belt rather than snapped into his weapon, a burnt black with a beautiful golden light glowing from within. I glanced up to see him scowling at me.

"Well then, Silva Yin-"

"What is it with everyone and fucking calling me with my last name!" I hissed before I could stop myself. He ignored my outburst and continued on.

"-I suggest you find someone else to follow or join a party with, because I have no time for you."

And with that kind parting statement, he stepped into the portal.

I blinked for a good five seconds after he had disappeared and then my shoulders began to shake. And then I couldn't contain it anymore.

I laughed and I laughed and I laughed and I laughed and I laughed. It wasn't even a beautiful, musical laugh. It was an insane, cackling, witch-like kind of laughter. It was the kind of laugh that made Slimes turn into puddles and humans inch away from you and other monsters simply look at you and then continue on their merry way, not even bothering to attack you for your lunacy.

And it did.

I could've sworn that the purple stain in the grass next to the Herbs was from a Slime, and the Imps passed right by me, and any adventurers in the vicinity turned right back around and headed for the Sand Beach portal, never mind that they'd probably die or get back to Roumen late because of the detour.

It took me a few minutes to calm down, and a few giggles still racked me as I wiped away my tears. I knew I wasn't good at controlling my emotions or facial features, so when I was laughing, I kept laughing, and if I was crying, even if someone made me laugh, I'd keep crying through my chuckles. I found that I had rolled onto the ground and thrashed around like I had been going through a seizure, and I picked myself up, feeling sore all over but giddy and content.

Zorark. What a riot. He was interesting, he was challenging. And he wasn't getting away from me, because I knew things that he didn't know that I knew. He wanted to get to level 11, and he had just died. He was level 10 and missing at least half his experience points before he could head off to Elderine. So where would someone around his level go to train?

* * *

><p>Well that's the end for Forest of Tides. Stay tuned for the next chapter.<p>

~Ryuu

_... Lol I wonder how many people actually read this.. xD_

-_Kai_


	3. Sand Beach

**A/N: **Just posting the rest of this story (since it is discontinued) for any fans who want to read it. - Scykra

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: Sand Beach<strong>

_Sand Beach. It was a calming place, I suppose, if you didn't mind the monsters attacking you and the King Crabs trying to kill you and adventurers leaving corpses and useless item drops everywhere._

_ It was also a nice place to release my temporary _rage against B_lue Crabs. I had lost count of how many I had slain, but judging from my new experience points and the items in my pack, it was a pretty high number for only having arrived in the area ten minutes ago. And it wasn't like the monsters could reproduce instantly either. There were always a few hiding away and creating new monsters, but at most times of day, adventurers outnumbered monsters and then the creatures were scarce._

_ With a frustrated sigh, I crouched down on a sand dune and surveyed the beach. It was littered with Blue Crab corpses and crawling with adventurers picking through the items I had left behind, searching in vain for something useful I could have missed. I had made sure to pick up everything of value, though I saw a few newer adventurers pick up a few of the useless items._

_ My thirst for the blood of Blue Crabs was satisfied for the moment and I began combing the beach, hoping for a King Crab or something high leveled enough to give me a good handful of experience points. I was still a ways off from reaching level 11, and remembering how Roumenus had denied me entry into Elderine still angered me beyond reason._

_ Like a mirage in the heat, a King Crab materialized into view, headed straight for me with threatening, clacking claws. I readied my own, prepared to attack or defend depending on which one of us was faster._

_ It was me. I slashed at it with a Claw Swipe, dodging one of its deadly claws with a back flip. I landed lightly on my feet, slipping and landing in a crouching position because of the sand. I rolled away to avoid another attack and jabbed at the crab with my Lacerate skill, collecting a second soul. I leaped back twice to avoid the King Crab's continuous attacks, waiting impatiently..._

_ The Claw Swipe skill finally cooled down, and I rushed in to activate it again. With three souls collected, my claws began to ooze poison as it glowed a malicious black. I jabbed, using the Claw Lunge skill, and the King Crab was no more._

_ I nudged the dead body with a toe, shifting it aside to see if it had dropped anything useful._

_ "Yo. Pretty impressive, Zorark."_

_ I turned around with an unamused glare, scowling at the violet-haired girl perched on a enormous shell. She grinned and gave a small wave._

_ "What are you doing here?" I growled._

_ "Your face is going to stick like that if you scowl so much," she answered, leaping down and jabbing a finger in front of my face. I refused to flinch, instead continuing to glower at her._

_ "How do you know my name?"_

_ "You already know mine, so it's not like it's a big fucking deal or anything," she shrugged, pacing in a circle around me with her hands clasped behind her back. "And I'm here to see you fight. You're really good, you know."_

_ "You're not level 5 yet," I pointed out. The minimum level for entry to Sand Beach was level 5. As far as I knew, she was only level 3, and barely at that._

_ "Nope."_

_ I waited impatiently for her to elaborate. When she only stared back at me, I continued._

_ "How did you get here," I intoned._

_ "Through the portal," Silva said matter-of-factly, hopping back onto the shell and facing the crashing waves of the sea._

_ "The portal."_

_ "Yes. The portal." She turned to face me._

_ "Through the portal."_

_ "Through the fucking portal," she agreed. "I walked through and it did its magic and here I am. It's not that hard. On my part, at least." She planted her feet in the sand, careful to retrace her own footsteps. My eyes followed her until I had turned around completely._

_ "You might want to move."_

_ I raised an eyebrow._

* * *

><p>Seeing a bad ass Trickster getting taken down by an ocean wave is pretty funny.<p>

I reduced the bubbling giggles that threatened to overtake me to a tight lipped smirk that didn't go away even as he resurfaced from the water, sputtering and coughing and looking like a drowned, indignant cat.

"I warned you. If you're on the beach, you gotta be aware of the ocean," I told him, the smirk spreading into a grin. "She's a fucking PMSing bitch that can never control her mood swings, I'll tell you that much. Though I guess you wouldn't know shit about that, seeing as you have two moods and two moods only."

"Really." He tugged at his shirt and squeezed as much salt water as he could out of it, still sputtering and sopping wet.

"Yup." I skipped over and ruffled his hair until it mostly dried up, standing up in even messier spikes than usual. "Apathetic or really pissed off. So which one are you right now?"

"Take an educated guess," he spat, smacking my hand away. "Adventurers under level 5 aren't allowed in Sand Beach. How did you get here?"

"Would you like me to go through the entire fucking 'the portal' conversation again?" I answered wryly. "Because as fascinating as that was, I'm sure that you have more important things to be doing."

"I do. And I will ask this only once. Why are you here?"

"Long version, really, really, really, _really_ long version, or short version?"

He looked about as disgusted as I get when I see mushrooms. I smiled as wide a I could go.

"Okay! The really, really, really, _really_ fucking long version it is!"

He walked away.

* * *

><p><em>How long was she going to keep following me? She wasn't even trying to be stealthy about it, making snarky little side comments as I hacked away at my thirteenth Hungry Wolf. Its corpse left behind Beast Leather (Low Quality) and Beast Dogtooth (Low Quality). I did my best to ignore her ("Thirteen is a goddamned unlucky number, didn't you know that!? Quick, go kill another Hungry Wolf!") and picked up the items, stowing them away for later.<em>

_ "Are you going to keep following me?" I asked bluntly, trekking through the forest in search of another monster to kill. I was still only three-fourths of the way to level 11, to my frustration. If this girl hadn't been following me..._

_ "Zorark, why do you pick up these weird looking items?" she said, either ignoring or not having heard my question. I turned around to see that she had nicked my Beast Leather (Low Quality) from my pack and was now examining it, holding it high between her thumb and forefinger._

_ "Give that back," I growled, snatching it away and shoving it back into my bag. "I'll ask you again. How do you know my name?"_

_ "What kind of shitty stalker would I be if I didn't even know your name?" she answered dryly. She constantly had this little smug smile on her face, which was infuriating when coupled with her lazy, half-lidded eyes. I scowled and continued walking._

_ There was a peaceful moment of silence, for once. I concentrated on the chattering of the birds, the forest sounds uninterrupted by human voices..._

_ "So why _are_ you picking up useless items?"_

_ I bit my tongue, refusing to give her the satisfaction of a furious outburst._

_ "Scroll production," I answered tersely. There was another silence, and then:_

_ "... What?"_

_ I took a deep breath, stopping to turn around and face her. My brown eyes met her gray ones, unblinking._

_ "I feel sorry for whatever adventurer ends up partying with you in the future," I told her honestly. "Because they will have to put up with your ignorance."_

_ When I turned around, I caught from the corner of my eye her face, blinking furiously, and I continued to walk, finally spotting two more Hungry Wolves, flanking an Angry Wolf._

_ "Hey, that was uncalled for!" she yelled after me, finally processing my words._

_ "Stay back, you fool!" I hissed, blocking her with an arm. "You're going to die! These monsters are far too high leveled for you."_

_ "Uh huh," she drawled, sarcasm dripping from her words. "Then I'll just go sit on this tree and watch you fucking battle to your heart's content, 'kay?" True to her word, she scrambled up a pine and perched on a branch, legs dangling off_ the edge.

_ "You better stay there," I growled in a low voice. The Angry Wolf had caught sight of me and began charging towards me, followed closely by the two Hungry Wolves._

_ I leaped high into the air and slashed at the nearest Hungry Wolf, activating Lacerate and obtaining a soul. In a movement, I was surrounded by the three wolves. I pivoted on the heel of my foot and scratched at the next Hungry Wolf, adding another soul to my collection with Claw Swipe. I dodged a blow from the first wolf and moved to use Lacerate again to finish it off, but froze when I realized the skill still hadn't finished cooling off. I was scratched on the cheek because of my hesitation, and I finally slew the Hungry Wolf with Lacerate._

_ It was no use though. The two remaining wolves were already drawing back their claws to attack me, and though I raised my own to defend myself, I knew that I was going to die again, lose all my hard work for a second time. But then-_

_ "Hey, you pair of fur-faced freaks! The moon shines on the corpses of your fellows! The Slimes take their severed heads to feast upon!"_

_ I turned around, horrified as I recognized the voice. Silva stood there, a wild grin on her face and beckoning for the wolves to come._

_ "Come and fight like men, eh?" she taunted. "Two against one is hardly fair! The youngest child of my town could take the both of you on with one hand tied behind his back!"_

_ The wolves howled in fury and ran past me to attack her. I was still frozen with shock and horror, and when I finally forced myself to run after them, they were already picking at the girl's corpse._

* * *

><p>I woke up to find myself choking on smoke and teary eyed from half suffocating. My entire body was filled with molten lava, electric sparks jolting through my veins. It wasn't like I could writhe properly either: my body was paralyzed and I couldn't bring myself to move other than a few twitches.<p>

When the smoke began to dissipate and I stopped crying, I choked and coughed out deep breaths, concentrating on the simple objective of in, out, in, out, in, out... Eventually, the task became easier and my lungs were no longer on fire, and the voltage had been reduced drastically and contained only on a diagonal, jagged line on my stomach and arms.

Grimacing, whimpering, and swearing all the while, I slowly picked myself up from off the ground and forced myself into a kneeling position. My legs couldn't take the weight, though, and I fell on all fours, my arms and legs trembling. The faintness and light-headedness I felt blocked all coherent thought; otherwise, I would have been disgusted with how pathetic I felt at the moment.

And as if all that torture wasn't enough, shivers went down my back as I sensed an icy presence groping through my mind, like a frozen hand searching for a light switch in the dark. I gasped, choked, and felt myself tearing up again when the hand found what it was looking for and clenched it, forcefully tearing it away. With a sob, I collapsed back onto the ground, a whimpering, trembling mess.

I felt like I had just lost a part of myself and found that I kept patting myself as if to make sure that I still had all my body parts. I ended up biting down on my tongue until it bled and focused on that pain until everything else faded away to a low tingle.

It could have taken thirty seconds or several hours, but I finally crawled back onto my feet and spat out the mouthful of blood. My tongue swept around my mouth until the metallic taste was gone, and I stared at shaking hands, counting my fingers over and over again until I was sure I had all ten digits attached.

I looked up and saw that the sun had just finished setting, faint glimmers of sunlight barely seen over the horizon. I must've been with Zorark longer than I thought, or otherwise the torture had lasted exactly as long as it had felt.

I crawled slowly to my feet, getting my bearings as I leaned heavily on a tree. There was a portal nearby, but there was not way of telling where it led to. My surroundings looked familiar, though, and I guessed that I was at the Roumen portal.

"Are you finished?"

The surprise from hearing the voice caused my knees to buckle, and I found myself sitting on the ground again. I looked up and saw Zorark leap down from the tree I had been using for support.

I tried to answer, but the effort took too much energy, and nodding my head would've turned the light-headed feeling into a headache, so I simply blinked at him.

"Dying is fun, isn't it?" he asked wryly, crouching down so that we were eye level. "What did you go and do that for, you bloody fool? In both senses of the word."

I looked down at myself, and sure enough, I felt dried blood crack across my skin when I shifted. My clothes were in perfect condition, though, and even the bottom of my shoes were as good as new, although they had been completely worn out just this morning.

The tingle faded at last and I felt warmth seep back into my limbs, and I sighed with relief at the feeling.

I opened my mouth to ask why the hell he hadn't told me that dying would hurt so fucking much, the bastard, because if I hadn't decided to follow him, I'd be going through this pain over and over and over, but what came out instead was: "Hungry."

It was then that I realized that I hadn't eaten breakfast (since I had been travelling), lunch, or dinner (because I had been stalking Zorark).

With an exasperated sigh, he shrugged off his bag and dug through it, pulling out an apple and tossing it to me. Without enough strength left in me to even lift an arm, it fell into my lap. I stared at it, then looked up at him questioningly.

"In return for the HP Potion earlier," was his reply.

I stared at him, trying to implant the thought into his mind that I was too tired to even _breathe_ right now, let alone gather up the energy to eat.

Slapping his hand to his forehead with a final groan, he plucked the apple out of my lap and slipped one of his claws onto a hand. He sliced the fruit into tiny pieces, grumbling to himself as juice got all over his weapons. He shoved a piece in front of my face with one command:

"Open."

My jaw dropped open immediately and he popped the fruit in. I snapped my mouth shut again and he stared at me expectantly.

"Do I have to chew for you too, or can you do that yourself?" he finally asked when I did nothing. If I had strength, I would've told him that I liked to let my food sit in my mouth before chewing and swallowing. As it was, I merely chewed obediently and forced the food down. Despite being absolutely starving, I found the fruit nearly impossible to stomach.

Zorark stared at me with his brow furrowed, as if trying to figure me out.

"Try this instead," he ordered, handing me a strip of dried meat. I didn't know what it was and it didn't look particularly appetizing, but I obeyed and sucked on it, enjoying the savory taste. I chewed it carefully and swallowed it, finding it much easier to keep down than the apple.

He fed me tiny bits of meat like this until I regained my strength and could take the apple into my own hands and eat it without feeling like I had to puke. He only gave me a bottle of water to wash the food down and nothing else, for which I was thankful. I didn't want to be owing him _too_ much.

Well, food I could pay back, but time and experience I couldn't. But before I got to apologizing for that, I had something else to tell him.

"Why the _fuck_ didn't you tell me dying would hurt so fucking much?!"

"I thought you knew," he answered smugly, examining his claws for any damage. "Adventurers kill people, sometimes, you know. We're going to Hell, so if they're reviving us, it will at least hurt like it."

"And how can you stand that torture without fainting?" I asked slowly, remembering how he had gotten back on his feet immediately after reviving. He gave me a sharp look.

"You get used to it."

I sighed but didn't pry deeper, instead asking another question that had been nagging me.

"Did you at least kill the wolves?"

"With a Razor Claw, yes," he murmured, flicking off a speck of dust from a claw. "Your death may or may not have been useless."

"Oh, well you're very kind," I grumbled. "Just admit it, me sacrificing myself helped you win. You were cornered. I saw you."

"Think what you will," he answered with a shrug. He stood up and brushed himself off. "Anything else you would like to interrogate me for?"

"Let me see something," I said, holding out a hand. Rolling his eyes, he pulled me up and I feigned weakness, collapsing on him. He grumbled and pushed me off of him and I grinned triumphantly, holding up his targeting stone.

As his eyes widened and he patted his pockets as if not believing that I had taken it from him, I checked his level.

Good. He had reached level 11. Now he could go to Elderine, whatever he needed to go to there for.

"Give that back," he snarled, swiping the stone from me and shoving it back into his pocket. I shrugged and stuck my tongue out at him.

"Just checking to make sure that I _really_ hadn't died for nothing," I smiled. "Have you gone back to Roumen yet?"

He shook his head, and I blinked in confusion.

"Then...?"

"I came back here as soon as I killed the wolves to check on you," he explained nonchalantly. "Since you were so ignorant of basic adventurers' knowledge, I thought you wouldn't know how to set up your house to heal. Seems I was right."

"Tell me about the house thing later," I mumbled, feeling exhaustion wash over me. "I just need to go back to Roumen and sleep right now."

Not waiting for his reply, I staggered towards the portal, nearly slipping and hitting my head on one of the floating stones. Zorark grabbed my arm at the last moment, though, and shoved me through the portal before leaping in after me.


	4. Elderine

**Chapter 4: Elderine**

_I leaned against the side of the inn with a sigh. I closed my eyes and folded my arms across my chest, a foot against the wall, and simply let the noises of the night take over me. The crickets chirped softly and in the restaurant nearby, where the lights still glowed, came the clatter of utensils and the chatter of diners._

_ Slowly opening my eyes, I angled my head up towards the dark sky, watching the stars twinkle brighter and dimmer, only to be covered by a cloud._

_ Despite listening to the calm of the night, the noisy chaos inside of me didn't settle as I had hoped. There were two paths to take from here: wait for Silva to wake up or to head straight to Elderine._

_ If I waited for Silva, she would most definitely force me to party with her, one way or another. And while I wasn't exactly excited about having to go through all the beginner quests again, her distraction _was_ what had allowed me to kill the wolves and so reach level 11. While I owed her for that, the debt was paid off by me bringing her to this inn._

_ Judging from what I've seen of her so far, though, she seemed to be the type of person to chase me down to pay me back for the inn's room. Which was no good, since she'd follow me either way... if I headed straight to Elderine, there was no doubt that she'd guess right away where I had gone and follow me anyways._

_ With a frustrated groan, I ran an impatient hand through my hair, wondering why she had to be so unbelievably annoying, even when unconscious._

* * *

><p>Having been waking up in unfamiliar rooms for the past week, I hardly took any notice of my new surroundings, instead groggily climbing out of bed and reaching for my pack to change out of my sleeping clothes.<p>

Realizing I was still wearing my traveling clothes, I figured I must've been far too tired the night before and simply fell asleep without changing. I didn't notice the claws on my hand and crawled out of bed to go to the bathroom.

Then I noticed that I was still wearing my boots, which would have been impossible no matter how tired I had been because I can _never_ sleep with my boots on. Still half asleep, I couldn't think of the implications of this and merely staggered off to wash my face anyways.

The water was ice cold and made me yelp, but it shocked me into remembering what had happened. After being rudely shoved through the portal, I had fainted and then...

I cursed loudly and looked around, properly taking in my surroundings this time. It was like a room any average inn had, nothing terrible nor fancy. Zorark must have taken me here after I had fainted.

With this in mind, I finished my morning routine in record time and grabbed my pack, racing out the door. I stopped by the counter, out of breath, to talk to the manager.

"Who paid for my room?" I said in between gasps for air. She gave me a strange look but flipped through her book, asking for my room number.

"Ah... yes, that would be last night," she muttered, adjusting the glasses on her face. "He refused to give his name, but he was a bit taller than you and had blue hair and brown eyes..."

Zorark. Definitely Zorark.

"Thanks," I told her, regaining my breath and my usual lazy smile returning to my face. "How much did he pay?"

"About 150 coppers..."

I ran out of the inn, already counting out the coppers.

* * *

><p><em>Elderine was always an unpleasantly crowded place no matter when I visited. I couldn't understand why she wanted to live here.<em>

_ I scowled, glaring at the unbelievable amount of houses set up in the middle of the road, hoping to sell a few items to ignorant people at ridiculous prices. Sadly, there were enough of those to completely crowd the street, and I took a deep breath before pushing and shoving my way through, ignoring any glares or yells of protest I received._

_ After finally reaching the other side, I still had to weave through the crowds around the shopkeepers until reaching my destination. After being kicked, pulled, shoved, yelled at, elbowed, and generally being treated as though I was invisible, I was extremely fed up with the city._

_ I glared at the innocent wooden door in front of me, and the anger immediately disappeared, washed away by a wave of nostalgia. I hadn't been to this house since five years ago..._

_ I raised my hand to knock on the door._

* * *

><p>"The bastard fucking left me behind!"<p>

* * *

><p><em>It took five minutes for the door to open, during which I heard crashing, breaking, screeching of metal on metal, cursing, and, disturbingly enough, the screams of something dying. When the door finally flung open, it revealed my very disheveled and out of breath master.<em>

_ I raised an eyebrow at her appearance and she made a rude sign with her hands in response._

_ Her waist length platinum blonde hair was scattered everywhere, her bangs almost completely obscuring her emerald green eyes. With an impatient huff, she straightened out her tan skirt and white blouse._

_ "... I'm almost scared to ask about the blood on your arms," I offered, when she continued to glare at me as if expecting an explanation for my unannounced visit. Blinking, she glanced down at her arms and looked back up at me._

_ "Adel hates you, you know," she answered nonchalantly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her elf-like ears. "I had to chain him to the bed."_

_ "... Looks like he broke the bed." I nodded at the white dragon breathing heavily over her shoulder, yellow glowing eyes staring me down. He growled low, deep in his throat, baring his white, pointed teeth at me._

_ "Hello, Adel," I said as calmly as I could manage. "It's been a while."_

_ He threw the orange orbs in his claws at me._

* * *

><p>If there was one place where I knew he'd be at for sure, it was Elderine. After a moment of squinting at my map and turning it side ways, upside down, and backwards, I headed off towards the portal I had noticed when I had first arrived at Roumen.<p>

I stepped in front of it and placed a hand on the mirror and a selection of areas I could go to were inscribed in glowing letters on the border. I brushed my fingers over the text until I found Elderine and pressed my palm to it. The name of the city glowed brighter and I figured it was safe to go through.

Taking a steadying breath, because walking into mirrors was a lot different than walking into glowing swirls floating in midair, I pressed on into the gate.

After the unpleasant feeling of having the air, blood, and bones sucked out of me, I dropped into a crouching position in front of the mirror. I blinked groggily, trying to take in my surroundings.

I seemed to be in a park of some sorts, under the roof of a patio. Bushes and hedges surrounded me on all sides, and there were a good handful of people rushing back and forth. I decided to follow the stream of people, taking off at a leisurely pace.

Soon enough, I found myself in a maze of hedges.

"... Fuck."

* * *

><p><em>A shiver ran down my back and I immediately turned around, ignoring my master as she wrestled with her pet.<em>

_ "Zorark, as soon as you're done staring off into space, I could use a little help! Adel, stop trying to-"_

_ Then came a hideous ripping sound... and the beautiful noise of peaceful silence._

_ "I'm going to assume that this would be a bad time to turn around."_

_ "Damn straight it would," she snarled. "Give me your vest." With a good-natured sigh, I shrugged the clothing off and tossed it over my shoulder, counted thirty seconds, and turned around._

_ "Your pet is very violent," I observed as she tugged at my vest. Adel snorted and retreated back into the house to retrieve his owner a new shirt. She rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest, leaning against the door frame._

_ "So you finally managed to get to level 10, huh?" she smiled._

_ "11."_

_ "E-uh?" She straightened up, blinking with disbelief. "11? Why didn't you come earlier then?!"_

_ I explained to her how Roumenus wouldn't let me to Elderine until I reached level 11, conveniently leaving out the tale of a certain other Trickster. I had paid off my debt to her, hopefully she would forget about it and I would never have to see her again._

_ As my master opened her mouth to reply to my story -_

_ "Elderine is a god damned huge, crowded city. I don't understand why you're so fucking obsessed with it."_

* * *

><p>I had the satisfaction of seeing Zorark stiffen, and I grinned as wide as my mouth could go. I peered over his shoulder to see a woman wearing his vest...<p>

"MOTHER!" I shrieked.

"DAUGHTER!" she yelled back.

Zorark's eyes went wider than dinner plates, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly as he tried to conjure up a proper response. He failed miserably and I couldn't help but laugh as I danced around to face him.

"I'm kidding, you know," I snickered mischievously, hands clasped innocently behind my back. "Spur of the moment thing to see your reaction."

"I went along because it seemed interesting," the woman behind me offered. Zorark closed his eyes and took a deep breath to compose himself.

"There's a dragon behind you."

* * *

><p><em> I was only slightly pissed and mostly relieved to hear that their mother-daughter relationship was a joke. In fact, thinking it through, that would have been impossible save for adoption, since my master was only seven years older than the girl.<em>

_ "Oh, be silent, it's a pet," I growled, cutting off the girl mid-scream. She turned to me with a nonchalant expression on her face._

_ "I know," she shrugged. "It just seemed like something normal people would do." I sighed, shaking my head._

_ "So, Zorark, who's the girl?" my master asked with a twisted smile on her face. She tugged the new shirt from Adel's jaws and pulled it on, shrugging off my vest after the shirt was safely on._

_ "I don't know," I answered, snatching my vest away from her._

_ "You're a bit cruel?" A Trickster's claw was waved in front of my face. "I helped you get to level 11. I should think that you know me, seeing as you fucking paid for my room and then ditched me at the inn."_

_ "How did you get here?" Now that I thought about it, this was unnatural. Just like before, she had entered an area that she shouldn't have been able to access at her current level._

_ "It's called a gate," she answered sarcastically. "I walked through it."_

_ "Wait, what level are you?" My master caught on quickly and the girl blinked at her._

_ "3... why?"_

_ "... You have to be at least level 10 to enter Elderine," my master explained slowly. "If you're only level 3... it should be impossible for you to have entered."_

_ "Well, I dunno how that happened either," she shrugged. "I have an idea though. I'd like to know you you are before I share my theory, though."_

_ "In that case..." My master stepped aside and held out an inviting hand. "Why don't you two come on inside? I'll go make some tea."_

_ I walked in, the girl following after slight hesitation. My master walked through the hallways that I recognized with faint nostalgia, leading us to the living room while Adel headed off towards the kitchen._

_ "Adel, don't get the tea-"_

_ Followed by a huge crash._

_ "... Your dragon needs to learn that he cannot carry a tray of tea in his jaws," I said dryly. "I'll go clean it up."_

_ My master nodded her thanks and invited the girl to sit down on the couch across from her._

* * *

><p>After three minutes of simply sitting and staring at me, with the only sounds being faint cursing and crashing coming from the kitchen, accompanied by some growls, I was feeling somewhat twitchy under this stranger's gaze.<p>

Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath through my nose, I did my best to ignore the staring and stop tapping my fingers on my knee. My forehead began tingling and my eyes flew open.

She was standing right in front of me, hands clasped behind her back.

Reflexively, I hopped onto the couch into a crouching position, hands braced against the back, ready to leap over it and run. Then I blinked and remembered that I was being paranoid. I wasn't traveling on the roads anymore, and I wasn't in a grotty, crime-ridden town.

But then again, this wasn't home where I always had two or four more people guarding my back, so I didn't move from my position.

Then, all of a sudden, she smiled and held out her hand.

"I'm Aisu Chie," she said.

"A... ah..." I tentatively took her hand and shook it. Her hand was calloused and scarred from fighting. I looked up, and her emerald eyes sparkled with curiosity, but I could detect no malice or ill-meaning in them. With this to comfort me, and the fact that she apparently knew Zorark very well, I told her, "I'm Silva Yin."

The silver dragon floated in, a pleased expression on its face, with a deep rumbling noise coming from its throat. It stopped next to Aisu, where it snorted and examined me thoroughly. It was followed by a tea-drenched Zorark covered in small little cuts and scratches. I raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Knife-fight in the kitchen or what?"

"Train your dragon better," he growled to Aisu, ignoring me completely. He dropped the tray of dishes and tea cups on the table.

"You break that and I'll set Adel on you," Aisu warned, scratching the dragon's head. It let out a contented rumbling from deep within its throat.

"His name is Adel?" I asked, reaching out slowly to pat the dragon. He snorted and shook his head and I retracted my hand with a shrug.

"So, Silva, how did you get to know Zorark?" Aisu asked, mildly berating Adel for his rudeness. He turned his head defiantly in the other direction and floated off elsewhere.

"It's, uh, a long story," I said, watching the beast move off. I caught Zorark rolling his eyes as he sipped at some tea.

"We have an adequate amount of time," she smiled, sitting back down onto the sofa and crossing her legs, her hands folded neatly in her lap.

* * *

><p><em>"-So she was following me-"<em>

_ "Stalking."_

_ "... Yes, 'stalking' me when-"_

_ "Ma-an, I really want some cookies right now..."_

_ "..."_

* * *

><p>Thirty minutes and forty six distractions and seventy two interruptions later, Zorark had finished telling the story of our meeting. Promptly after the re-telling, he left the room to go seethe and rage to himself where he wouldn't break the dishes.<p>

I winced as there was a hoarse yell, a snarl, and the sound of something breaking.

"... I suppose that Adel has found Zorark," Aisu muttered, running a hand through her hair. "You stay here while I go sort that out."

* * *

><p><em>"-Fucking dragon-"<em>

_ "-Stay still, for God's sakes-"_

_ "GRAAAR-"_

_ "SHUT UP, YOU IDIOTIC REPTILE-"_

_ "Imbecile, don't insult him-"_

_ "Grao?"_

_ "-get off-"_

_ "-getting blood all over my carpet-"_

_ "Raoo-"_

_ "-blame your dragon-"_

_ "-YOU'RE PAYING FOR THIS-"_

_ "Gyugao!"_

_ "GET! OFF!"_

* * *

><p>I sat peacefully in the living room, twiddling my thumbs and ignoring the chaos going on not two rooms away. I timed it: the skirmish took no more than ten minutes. When the crashing noises seemed to have relatively died down, I stood up and poked my head into the room.<p>

I didn't even think it was possible for a room to have been destroyed so utterly and thoroughly within ten minutes.

A halfway close description would be this: A drunk Satan and a PMS-ing God met within the confines of an atom of air within the room, which then spontaneously combusted into a nuclear explosion due to the polar opposites being placed so close to each other, causing said Satan and God to be released into the room that happened to be sealed in so tightly that the two had no choice but attempt to kill each other to escape.

The drunk Satan (Adel) was currently curled up in a corner of the destruction, unhurt and looking extremely pleased with himself, his tail twitching pleasantly in his sleep. The PMS-ing God (AKA Zorark) was covered in cuts, scrapes, bruises, blood, his eyes absolutely livid, bloodshot, and raging, with his face locked in a snarl, and in a battle-ready stance with his claws drawn and everything.

Aisu stood in the opposite corner of the room from Adel, looking the same as she had when she had left me in the living room, and face palming while shaking her head.

I whistled and hopped into the room, looking innocently around at the post-fight room. Zorark glared at me so hard that I had to dig my fingernails into my palm to keep from flinching, but I managed to return it with a smile.

Okay, so maybe what I said next _did_ deserve him chasing me off into the Forest of Mist, but it was too good of a chance to pass up.

"Seems like you guys had fun."

* * *

><p><em>If I had been capable of entering the Forest of Mist without being potentially slaughtered by monsters of a far higher level than I, I would have followed that little... little <em>brat_ and sliced her up so badly that she would've been unable to _breathe_ without wanting to die._

_ As it was, I let her run off towards her death and waited for her to revive at the gate. I counted the three minutes it would take her to run into a Grave Robber and die, waited the forty four seconds it would take for her to be reborn, and then stepped into the gate and smoke and dragged her back into Elderine._

_ Once we were through the portal, she collapsed on the ground, looking like she wanted to scream and writhe but being unable to do so. I tried to bring up some guilt, sympathy, or empathy, but having forgotten the pain of revival years ago, I could do none of those._

_ "Having fun?" I asked when she seemed to be resurfacing from the pain._

_ "Fu... fuck you," she managed to choke out. Her face seemed unnaturally red. Somewhat concerned, I crouched down to examine her closer until I realized that she was choking on her own laughter._

_ "... When you're completely functional and sane, you can come back to Master's house," I drawled, standing back up. "I expect that this time I don't have to drag you."_

* * *

><p>Bastard.<p>

Well, dying did seem a lot less painful this time. I managed to crawl back to my feet, ignoring the interested looks of the guards around the portal, and dusted myself off. I groaned when I realized that Zorark had ditched me and left me to fine my own way around Elderine.

Being raised in a small village, navigating the streets of a very, _very_ crowded city was not familiar to me.

By the time I found Aisu's house, it was sunset and I was starving. Again. My stomach snarled at me and I told it to shut up, remembering that the last time I had eaten was when Zorark had fed me. And dying takes a lot out of you.

So I decided to go back to Aisu and Zorark later, opting to have dinner first.

* * *

><p><em> "Zorark, I trained you to do better than that!"<em>

_ I ducked and rolled behind a tree, a Magic Missile 1 sailing over my head to explode on another poor, innocent tree. I had no time to worry about the environment, though, and ran off for another plant when my tree vaporized._

_ "Respect-"_

_A Fire Bolt 1 and I was surrounded by a ring of fire._

_ "-the people-"_

_ Ice Bolt 1, my feet were frozen into the ground._

_ "-AROUND YOU!"_

_ A Lighting Bolt 1 zapped my hands, hot electricity tracing up my veins and coursing through my body. After a moment, the fire, ice, and electricity faded, leaving my feet freezing cold and the rest of my body uncomfortably hot and tingly._

_ All the while, Adel had been whining to my master in vain, trying to get her to stop using spells and straining herself. In fact, the lower leveled spells that she had used hadn't really done any lasting damage. With the crisis over, I shook off the aftereffects and went over to my master, who was out of breath despite using only weak spells._

_ Adel whimpered and nuzzled his owner, letting her lean heavily on him. After catching her breath, she let out a huge sigh and stared me straight in the eye._

_ "You don't do that to people, understand?" she scolded. "You're a nice boy, a strong one who could protect people, but your one flaw is your anger. Control it."_

* * *

><p>… And Zorark, who was a good half a head taller and in a lot better shape than this woman despite having been the one under attack, bowed his head obediently and mumbled an apology.<p>

With a sigh of annoyance and frustration, I ruffled my hair before coming to a decision. I slid off the tree branch I had been perched on and dropped to the ground next to Zorark with a flurry of leaves.

"It was my fault, Aisu," I said, standing up straight and still being half a head shorter than her. "Zorark doesn't need to apologize. He was defending his pride while he was still locked in battle mode, and I was inconsiderate of that. Under normal circumstances, nothing would have happened."

Aisu raised an eyebrow and Zorark rolled his eyes at me. And then he punched me.

"Aw, dammit man!" I grumbled, picking myself off the ground and rubbing my cheek. That was going to bruise. I patted my pack and found the loaf of bread I had bought half squished. I tore off a chunk and threw it playfully at him before chomping down on the loaf. He caught it with his teeth and tore his chunk in half, handing one to Aisu and swallowing the one in his mouth.

"Don't try to be a good girl and take the blame for something you had no part in," he said gruffly after swallowing.

"Yes, because I am completely the type of person to let a friend get lectured for something that he didn't do wrong," I answered, waving him off before he could argue back. "Aisu, where are you hurt?"

She handed the rest of her bread to Adel, and I did the same. The dragon snapped up the food in one gulp before settling down so that Aisu could rest on him more comfortably.

"What would make you say that?" she asked. "I was the one attacking Zorark. If I'm out of breath, it might simply be because I am weak."

"You are most certainly not weak," I answered. "First of all, Zorark called you Master, and if that's anything to go by, then you must be really, really strong. Secondly, you fired those spells without any struggling, which means that you can use stronger ones but either can't or won't, and you used such weak spells in a very efficient way. Lastly... You're holding your stomach, so I'm guessing that's where you're hurt."

Blinking, Aisu looked down as if she hadn't realized she had been holding her wound. She laughed, but silently so that she wouldn't put herself in more pain.

"You're very observant," she smiled when she had finished laughing. I stared back at her, unamused.

"The only way to find out about a stubbornly guarded secret is by observation," I said simply. "Why would you exert yourself if you knew that you would end up in this state?"

Adel let out a snort of agreement.

"There are some things that you need to pound into people," she explained, giving Zorark a sidelong look. He looked away pointedly.

"Yeah," I snorted. "You're Zorark's master right? Did you know that your student is a rude little bastard? This is the second time he's shoved me through a portal!"  
>"Stubborn little rude man, I told you to act gently towards ladies!" Aisu grinned, playfully shoving her student.<p>

"... If either of you two were ladies, I would have no qualms with acting kindly towards you," he muttered under his breath, rubbing his arm. At this, a sly grin crossed my face.

"So there _is_ someone who you _would_ care about?" I teased. Aisu laughed and went along with me.

"Do tell!" She nudged him with her elbow. "Who is the lovely young lady who would receive the honor of being treated kindly by you?"

Zorark glared at me and then shifted his eyes away, refusing to look at us. The tiniest of blushes crossed his face and Aisu and I burst out into roars of laughter when we spotted it.

"SO THERE IS SOMEONE!" I giggled, pounding my fist on the nearest tree. The thought that Zorark, silent, short-tempered Zorark, would have someone who he liked...

"TELL, TELL, TELL!" Aisu chanted, calming down as much as she would so as not to irritate her wound. I hadn't forgotten about that and planned to ask more about it later, but for now, the idea of Zorark with a girl was still firmly planted in my mind.

Another wave of chuckles washed over me.

* * *

><p><em> It wasn't that I turned red because I <em>had_ someone I liked, but rather because I didn't. I refused to tell this to them to defend myself, though, because there was no doubt that once they had found out that I had never, in my eighteen years of living, ever liked a girl, they would immediately latch onto that and tease me about it._

_ I could imagine it now._

_ "He's EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD and he's _never_ liked a girl?! Is this kid gay or what?"_

_ "If you're going to do no more than laugh at me, I'm leaving," I told them, turning and heading towards my master's house. I paused and called back to the girl, "You. Don't stay in Elderine. Go back to Roumen and finish up your quests. You shouldn't be here."_

_ With my head bent towards the ground and my hands shoved in my pockets, I kept on walking._

* * *

><p>What a little bastard.<p>

"Fine!" I yelled after him. I glanced around and picked up a hefty rock. "Sure, I'll go back! This city is fucking crowded anyways, I don't know why you're so obsessed with it!"

I could imagine him rolling his eyes at me, but he didn't turn around, so I tiptoed after him until I was only three paces behind. He reach out to open the door to Aisu's place when I smashed his back with the rock. He flinched and curled in on himself but forced his arm backwards to grab me. I ducked and sprinted back up and into the safety of a tree.

He whirled around with a snarl on his face, looking this way and that to find me so he could strangle me, no doubt. Hidden in the leaves, I stuck my tongue out childishly at him and retreated back into the semi-forest where Aisu stood, still leaning on Adel.

"Do you need help getting back?" I called to her from a branch. She looked up and squinted in the leaves before she spotted me and shook her head.

"I'll be fine," she answered. "No matter how rude he was about it, Zorark was right. You shouldn't be in Elderine. You should stay in Roumen until you reach level 10."

"Yeah, I know." I dropped to the ground with a light thump. "But I don't want to go back today. Can I stay at your place for tonight? I'll be gone in the morning before you know it."

Aisu sighed and shook her head as if she thought I was as stubborn as Zorark, but she agreed to let me stay the night. I grinned at the thought of bugging Zorark again.

Then I realized he probably still wanted to strangle me and the grin was wiped off my face.

Oh well, I thought to myself, skipping after Aisu and Adel. He didn't have to know that I was in the house.

"Time to play it like a fucking ninja..."


	5. Elderine Redux

**Chapter 5: Elderine Redux**

"So you mean my ninja skills had no fucking point to them!?" I demanded. Aisu shrugged helplessly as I held Zorark away by his head, his arms reaching out to strangle me. His arms were longer than mine, of course, but I managed to keep him away long enough for Adel to show up and drag him away to destroy another room in the house.

"Adel takes up too much room in my bedroom for you to stay," Aisu said. "And I obviously can't put him in the same room as Zorark..."

We both winced in unison as a huge crash, followed by a vivid curse, came from the kitchen.

"Fine, I'll stay with Zorark," I grumbled. "As long as he doesn't try to kill me."

I ducked as Aisu sidestepped, both of us barely avoiding Adel whizzing past us with Zorark clinging onto the dragon and banging the creature on the head with a frying pan. They crashed into the wall and continued fighting as if they had merely hit a fly.

"... I am going to need a new house," Aisu sighed, holding her head in her hands.

* * *

><p><em>Fucking dragon.<em>

_ I tugged at the bandage, tying it into a tight knot with my teeth and free hand. With that done, I trudged into my temporary room, glaring at the girl who sat on a pillow on the floor, daring her to laugh at me._

_ Instead, she stood up unexpectedly and took the bandage, unwrapping it and studying the wound for a moment. Without a word of explanation, she turned to her pack and began rummaging around until she retrieved a little bottle of ointment. She unscrewed the cap and gently rubbed some of the pale green paste on the wound. I hissed. It was cool, but somewhat unpleasantly so. She rewrapped the bandage better than I had done and went back to sit on her pillow, whistling as she organized her bag._

_ Deciding not to ask, I dropped my pack on my bed and searched for some clean clothes to sleep in. The room was small, with a closet, a desk, a drawer, a lamp, and a bed being the only furniture in it, so it only took me a moment to do so._

_ I had just withdrawn the clothing when the girl suddenly opened her mouth to ask a question._

_ "What do you and the dragon have against each other?"_

_ "I've never done anything to him," I answered with a shrug. "I'm going to go change in the bathroom. You can change in here."_

* * *

><p>And then he left. I waited, counting the footsteps. Fifteen, the same amount as earlier in the day. When I knew he was safely away, I shrugged off my hoodie and shirt and pulled on my sleepwear, kicking off my pants afterwards. I tucked my boots beside my pack, which I lay on the floor in front of the drawer. I folded my clothes and shoved them into my bag.<p>

I laid back down on my makeshift bed, consisting of a spare mattress, a pillow, and a blanket. There was a knock at the door and I threw the pillow at it to let whoever it was behind it know that they could open it.

There was silence, and then a footstep going away. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"You can come in, you know!"

The door swung open, causing the fallen pillow to skid across the polished wooden floor back to me. I picked it up, bouncing it in my hand until I got a clear view of Zorark's face.

With an evil grin, I chucked the pillow at him with full force. He slammed the door shut again, hiding safely behind it as the projectile fell to the ground. I rolled my eyes at him as he entered the room, picking up the pillow and tossing it onto the bed as he did so.

"You're no fun."

"You have too much fun," he retorted. He withdrew his claws from his pack and sat cross legged on his bed with a cloth, meticulously cleaning every spot of dirt, blood, and guts from the weapons.

"Nah, life is too fucking boring, you know?" I lay back on the mattress and kicked my feet up, one crossed over the other. "If you don't make an effort to accomplish the things you find interesting, you'll get too caught up in the useless things."

From where I lay on the makeshift bed, I could just barely see above his shoulders. I caught him giving me a curious glance before turning his attention back to the deadly blades in his hand.

"So now that we're on the topic of interesting things," I said nonchalantly, turning my gaze back up to the ceiling, "what's up with Aisu?"

Zorark paused in his cleaning once more before deciding to answer my question.

"What part of Master do you speak of?"

"How you came to know her, her injury..." I trailed off vaguely with a shrug. "Anything." I heard a deep sigh and the clattering of metal.

"Some stories contain secrets that are not mine to tell, and others are my own secrets that I have no wish to reveal," he explained. "But the story of her injury is a rather infamous one in Elderine, so I suppose it wouldn't do any harm if I told you of that."

"I promise I won't fall asleep in the middle of it if you tell it with enough emotion," I drawled.

He just gave me a _look_ that said: _Just shut up and listen_.

* * *

><p><em>Hellgate King Helga.<em>

_ I sighed and scratched the back of my head, wondering how to describe him._

_ He is... a beast, an inhuman monster of sorts. He towers over the average human and then some and wields a flaming sword nearly as large as he is. Just when you think you've finally got him down, he heals himself back to full health and delivers a crushing blow._

_ It is nearly impossible to kill this tyrant of a king._

_ Six years ago, my master had been sent on a mission to assassinate Hellgate King Helga. Her teammates, her friends for life, had trained for months and triple checked their preparations before setting out on their journey._

_ They had been confident they would be able to defeat him_

_ The party arrived at Helga's Tomb and entered the monster's den. They had slain all of Helga's high-leveled minions in record time. It was not the first time Helga had been murdered, since he was reborn like all monsters, but it seemed that my master's party was going to put all the previous adventurers to shame and destroy him effortlessly._

_ When they had finally reached Hellgate King Helga, though, they had no idea what they were up against._

_ Despite the great number of clerics in my master's party, the tyrant's ability to heal himself when in danger of collapsing allowed him to take his time, destroying the group one teammate at a time until only my master and one other cleric was remaining. Knowing that her teammates were safe and well at the rebirth point, my master summoned up the last of her strength to strike the final blow._

_ With a single word uttered, Helga's servants were molded from the ground, hundreds appearing every second. Distracted and desperate to stay alive so that he could assist my master, the cleric slashed at the creatures, but failed, despite his best efforts to keep an eye on my master. Still determined to strike the monster down, my master ignored the monsters around her, unaware of the cleric's distraction. Knowing this, Helga swung his enormous sword at her, slashing her in half horizontally._

_ By some stroke of luck, her spine was not severed and the cleric had noticed that she had fallen before it was too late. Low on both HP and SP, he knew that their loss was inevitable and so took my master out of the dungeon where he could heal her safely. By then, however, it was impossible to fully heal the injury. The cleric did his best to repair the damaged organs and mend the broken skin._

_ A scar will remain so long as she lives, a painful and crippling reminder of her final quest._

* * *

><p>Silence.<p>

I put my hands together and started clapping slowly, which triggered a glare of death. I shrugged and put my hands innocently behind me back.

"You have amazing story telling skills," I told him honestly.

"... Thank you for the compliment, I suppose," he answered gruffly. He slipped his hands into his now meticulously clean and blindingly shiny claws, testing them out. Which reminded me, I probably had to clean my own set. I was feeling too lazy to tonight, but I figured I might as well get it over with. I dug through my pack for my cleaning rag and my claws and set myself to the task.

"Do you honestly know nothing about houses and such?" Zorark asked. I glanced up at him and he stared back, elbows resting on crossed legs with a smug half-grin on his face. It was the closest thing to a smile as I had ever seen on his face before and I found myself smirking back at him.

"Nah, but I didn't know you were capable of the upward movement the corners of your lips either," I answered nonchalantly, tapping a fingernail against a claw's blade. "Learn something new everyday, don't you?" The grin was immediately wiped off his face and replaced with his usual scowl.

"Oh, c'mon," I sighed, dropping everything in my hands onto the floor and leaning back with a groan. "Your face is gonna stick if you keep smiling. Your face mus-kuls need exercise too."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Mus-kuls?"

"More fun to say than muscles," I shrugged. "So are you gonna give me a crash course on the basic info needed to be an adventurer? Otherwise I'm just gonna keep fucking dying on you and then you'll be sad. Or extremely fucking pissed, either works."

Zorark let out a frustrated sigh, his hands alternating between rubbing his forehead and massaging his temples. He slid off his claws and set them down next to his pack.

"Fine. But I'm only going to say all of this once, so pay attention and don't ask questions."

* * *

><p><em>To my surprise, she followed my two commands quite well. As soon as I had finished explaining the basics of an adventurer, she tilted her head to the side as if to say, "Is that all?" I ran a hand through my hair with a sigh, my mouth dry from talking, and told her that I had nothing more to explain to her. With that, she gave me a nod of thanks, rolled over on her side, and bid me good night.<em>

_ About ten minutes later, I heard her breathing become slow, indicating that she had fallen asleep. I counted another two minutes before sliding out from under my sheets and stepping onto the wooden floor, its cool touch shocking my bare feet for a moment._

_ There were no windows in my room and none of the lights were on, so I had to move cautiously and slowly, feeling out the space in front of me to ensure that I did not stub a toe or run into a wall or trip over Silva. I closed my eyes and pretended I was blind; it was darker with my eyes open anyways._

_ With my sense of sight obsolete, I concentrated on my hearing. When I had pinpointed where Silva lay by her breathing, I knelt down beside her and felt around until my hands touched her mattress. With that found, I could easily picture how she lay. I slipped an arm behind her head and my other behind her knees and lifted her up._

_ I turned to my right 100 degrees and took a tentative step forward, immediately suppressing a yell and a curse as my toe hit my bedpost. Wincing as I put my weight on that foot, I stood next to my bed once more and set Silva down on it, throwing the blanket over her._

_ With that task done and my inner chivalrous side satisfied, I crawled under the blankets of the mattress on the floor and closed my eyes, waiting for the pain in my foot to subside so that I could finally get some sleep._

* * *

><p>a green flash<p>

ashes and smoke from nothing that was something

a giggle

"Kalí̱ douleiá!"

_(Good job!)_

chatter_amazement_applause

"Eíste katapli̱ktikí̱ kai talantoúchoi, Aisu."

_(You are amazing and talented, Aisu.)_

a pat on the shoulder

"Epitrépste mou na sas therapéf̱sei."

_(Let me heal you.)_

a smile

"Sas ef̱charistó̱."  
><em>(Thank you.)<em>

a blue glow

a tingle

painless

refreshed

"Den eínai éna próvli̱ma ."

_(It is not a problem.)_

movingmovingmovingmoving

pastpastpastpast

newnewnewnew  
>"THERA!"<p>

"Aisu, ti chreiázeste?"  
><em>(Aisu, what do you need?)<em>

smile_happy_hug

"Móno eseís ."

_(Only you.)_

movingmovingmovingmoving

pastpastpastpast

newnewnewnew

"Eínai kíndyno, Aisu."

_(It is danger, Aisu.)_

frown_worry_frown

unhappyhunhappy

psychí̱ - therapef̱tí̱s

_(soul healer)_

psychí̱ - therapef̱tí̱s

_(soul healer)_

psychí̱ - therapef̱tí̱s

_(soul healer)_

I̱ zo̱í̱ mou eínai

_(my life is)_

psychí̱ - therapef̱tí̱s

_(soul healer)_

Psychí̱ - Therapef̱tí̱s

Therapéf̱sei ti̱n psychí̱ mou .

_(Heal my soul.)_

movingmovingmovingmoving

pastpastpastpast

newnewnewnew

"THERA!"

"Págos!"

_(Aisu!)_

nonononono

nothappeningdon'thappenimpossiblenotreal

dreamnightmarenightmirrorreality

cry_dead_choke

dyingdyingdyingdying

painpainapainpainpainpainpainapainpainpainpainpainapainpainpainpainpainapainpainpainpainpainapainpainpainpainpainapainpainpainpainpainapainpainpainpainpainapainpainpainpainpainpain

a blue glow

a blue glow

a blue glow

pain

pain

a tingle

painful

need to refresh

pain

Giatí eínai o pónos ekeí?

_(Why is there pain?)_

"Aisu."

"Psychí̱ - Therapef̱tí̱s?"

"Ti chreiázeste?"

_(What do you need?)_

painpainpain

pónospónospónos

"O pónos den tha fýgei ."

_(The pain will not leave.)_

crypainsobchokedead

"Giatí ?"

_(Why?)_

"Epitrépste mou na sas therapéf̱sei."

_(Let me heal you.)_

a blue glow

a tingle

painful

"Sas ef̱charistó̱."

_(Thank you.)_

a sob

"Eínai kakó ."

_(It is bad.)_

question

ti ?  
><em>(what?)<em>

"Prókeitai gia éna próvli̱ma ."

_(It is a problem.)_

therapef̱tí̱s ?

_(healer?)_

"Den boró̱ na epoulo̱thoún."

_(I cannot heal.)_

. . .

ti?

_(what?)_

"Lypámai ."

_(Sorry.)_

silence

dead

cry

No.

nonononononononono

óchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchióchi

_(nonononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononono)_

therapef̱tí̱s

_(healer)_

Therapéf̱sei ti̱n psychí̱ mou .

_(Heal my soul)_

* * *

><p>The faintest memories of a dream slipped away from me as I sat up, groaning as several of my joints cracked. Refusing to open my eyes, I attempted to roll off the bed and ended up crashing into a wall. Cursing to myself, I slid off the bed the other side and promptly tripped over something large, warm, and alive on the ground.<p>

With a moan and several more colorful words and oaths sworn under my breath, I stood up, opening my eyes blearily. The first thing I saw was a blur of colors, and I felt a rush of wind before being slammed onto the ground. I literally felt the wind knocked out of my lungs and I coughed painfully, trying to get them to work again.

"Oh God, that's going to leave a bruise," I wheezed out, still trying to get air back into my lungs. I crawled up, still feeling jolted from the throw, and glared at my antagonist.

"The hell, Zorark?"

"I apologize," he drawled, dusting himself off as if this were a daily occurrence. "I had thought you were Adel. He did not always wake me up in the most gentle ways when I lived with Master before."

"Why the fuck was I in your bed to begin with?" I muttered, rolling up my sleeves to check for any new injuries I had acquired. I had more bruises from waking up this morning than I had from being killed twice the day before.

"I didn't think it courteous for me to make a girl sleep on the floor," he answered, walking out of the room. "I'm going to change and get breakfast. You find your own way around here."

"Chivalry is dead, Zorark," I grunted, getting to my feet.

"Only because of girls like you," came his reply.

"FUCK YOU."


	6. Roumen Redux

**Chapter 6: Roumen Redux**

Aisu was busy preparing breakfast in the kitchen, and being awfully noisy about it too, what with clattering pots and pans and utensils and whatnot. I peeked into the room to see a giant column of smoke billowing from the current pot that she stirred the contents of.

Smoke. Not steam.

Slightly concerned by that fact, and by the unearthly scent that came from Aisu's concoction, I retreated from the kitchen and decided to wait for her to finish before attempting to talk to her.

I stepped into the living room and found Zorark already sprawled over one of the couches, suppressing a yawn and glaring at Adel to make the dragon keep its distance. He noticed me enter the room and seemed momentarily distracted, giving Adel the chance to pounce. Zorark let out a brief curse before leaping off the couch and rolling under the table. The dragon poked his head, attempting to follow Zorark but finding out that he was too large to do so. Letting out a whine and snapping his jaws in vain, Adel finally retreated and floated off to Aisu.

Zorark sighed, crawling to his feet and dusting himself off. He eyed me, as if daring me to tease him. I smirked. Only two days, and he knew me so well.

"Tired of brawling with otherworldly creatures?" I asked. Deciding to ignore me, he sat himself back down on the couch. Annoyed, but letting him slide this time, I changed the subject.

"Your master's cooking seems..." I paused, searching for the words. "... fascinating." He raised an eyebrow.

"Master's cooking?" He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it slightly. "And she was accusing _me_ of destroying her property earlier..."

"Yeah, I figured it'd be fucking heavenly and danger-free," I commented, plopping down onto the couch opposite him. "Should I call the police now or after we've died from food-poisoning?"

"I didn't say her food was bad; merely that the process may be fatal for any unfortunate creature that ventures near her," he corrected. Which, at the moment, included Adel. No wonder Zorark seemed pleased.

There was a high pitched squeal, followed by the breaking of plates and the roar of a dragon.

"Alright," I drawled, still slightly concerned about the idea of consuming anything that came from that kitchen. "Actually, that reminds me. Do we get revived if it's not monster-stabbing-us-to-death related?"

"That depends on the situation. Are we talking about you being idiotic and stabbing out your own eye from some reckless, ignorant act?"

"Oh _shut up_, I'm not that stupid," I growled, rolling my eyes. "I'm impressed, though. I didn't think you capable of a sarcastic remark." He gave me a dry smile; the first one I've ever seen on his face.

"There are many things you don't know about me."

"Ooh, how cryptic and mysterious!" I said in mock awe, waving my hands around in an attempt to be mystical. Or make fun of people trying to be mystical. Zorark snorted and turned away, ending the conversation as if I wasn't worth his time. With a haughty sniff, I turned my head as well, crossing my arms across my chest as I imitated a pouting child.

"Breakfast is served!" Aisu announced cheerily, bringing in trays of food and tea. She set them down on the table as Adel wearily floated in after her. I was quite curious about the state of the kitchen now; the dragon was worn out and injured, which seemed almost impossible, seeing as how even Zorark hadn't even scratched him in their brawls.

I was startled out of my ponderings as Zorark grabbed a bowl and spoon and began to blow at the porridge, remembering why I had wanted to speak with Aisu earlier.

"Oh, um, thanks for the breakfast and all," I said hastily, standing up, "but I was thinking of going back to Roumen now. I was going to tell you earlier, but you seemed... preoccupied..."

"Is that so?" Aisu frowned. "Well, if you have to. You sure you don't want to stay for breakfast?"

I eyed Zorark sipping at his meal. He seemed perfectly fine, but I couldn't forget the smell that had come from the kitchen earlier. I shook my head.

"If not, then you'd best be on your way now," she answered, smiling good-naturedly and seemingly taking no notice of my wariness of her food. "You saw how crowded Elderine can get. It should be relatively empty now, since it's still early, but it'll fill up later."

"Alright. Thanks again for letting me stay the night," I said, with a respectful nod. She shook her head, saying that it was nothing, and led me to the door. Zorark surprised me by following us.

"Well, time to die repeatedly until I complete my quest!" I announced with a bit more cheer than I felt. Really, those fucking Mushrooms were going to be _asses_ to kill. And it would take way too long. But I didn't want to bother Zorark and Aisu any more and fall into even more debt, as much fun it was to tease Zorark.

"You never did mention why you needed my help," Zorark commented.

"For me to know, and you to find out on a need-to-know basis," I retorted. "A~nd, I'm off!"

"I'm sure we'll meet again," Aisu said, with a small smile. I nodded, said a few more quick goodbyes, then marched off for the Roumen portal.

* * *

><p><em>Once the girl was out of sight, my master turned to face me with a grin frighteningly reminiscent of the Cheshire cat's. I knew what that look meant.<em>

_ "Alright then, little Zorark," she began, voice deceptively sweet. "I've brought you up to be such a gentleman. You aren't going to let a poor, defenceless little girl like that run off on her own, are you?"_

_ "She is hardly a 'defenceless little girl'," I grumbled in response, defiantly crossing my arms over my chest. "I'm not going after her."_

_ "Zorark..." she warned._

_ "No."_

_ "I know why you came back to Elderine to find me," she stated nonchalantly, placing a hand on her hip. She raised an eyebrow. "Go find her. I'm not helping you otherwise."_

_ "What is the meaning behind your irrational attachment to that girl?" I growled, not liking the way she was practically threatening me to go help Silva. "If it were anyone, you'd hardly care."_

_ "All in due time, impatient one," she said softly, smiling. Her sad, almost bitter response surprised me, and she caught me off guard by forcefully, and literally, kicking me out onto the street, where I was nearly trampled by a rush of people._

_ "If you try to come back, I _will_ let Adel maim you!" I heard her yell over the chaos. I groaned, climbing to my feet and rubbing my sore side._

_ "Bitch," I muttered under my breath. With reluctance, I started towards the Roumen portal to find my stalker._

* * *

><p>"Mushroom, fucking Mushroom," I whispered. Like before, I was high up in a tree, hidden safely in its foliage. My prey was down below, where it was safely unable to kill me.<p>

"Why couldn't I have been an Archer?" I mumbled to myself, slowly sliding down to the floor. I really did _not_ want to die from a god damned Mushroom.

Stupid. Fucking. Allergies.

Berating myself for my stupid fear of not-dying, I prepared myself to attack. Before I even began to move, though, the gruesome beast turned to face me.

"God dammit!" I shrieked, instinctively backing up to the tree as it began to hop towards me. Reminding myself that I couldn't really die, I forced back my terror and waited as it approached. Once it was within range, I darted in and swiped at it, activating Claw Swipe. The Mushroom hissed and made a noise that made my soul shrivel a little bit, and I used the opening to get in another good slash at it.

"Oh shit, oh shit," I yelped, diving to the side as it roared, swinging a fist (? honestly, I can't care to study the anatomy of these unnatural creations) at me. I rolled to my feet, claws at the ready, glancing quickly at my target stone to make sure that no other monsters would randomly attack me.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, _fuck!_" My voice cracked embarrassingly as I swore up a storm, dodging and flailing every which way in an all-out attempt to avoid being touched by the Mushroom. I managed to scratch it a few times by batting its arms away with my struggling.

"This must be the saddest fight I have ever seen in my entire life."

With a final wimpy swat at the creature, I leaped back a good four feet and slid to a halt. I glanced up at Zorark, who stood beside me with his arms folded and face wearing a smug expression. I stuck my tongue out at him and backed off, standing safely behind him, feeling weary and grateful as he took up a battle ready stance.

It was over with a single slash and piteous wail.

"So," I started, skipping towards him with an impish grin. "You came for me."

"Aisu is quite adamant about me being a gentleman towards you," he answered, flicking a greying piece of Mushroom off his claw. I jumped a little, inching away from the dissolving flesh. he raised an eyebrow.  
>"And you?" He gestured towards the rapidly decaying corpse of the slain beast. "What was that fight? I'm aware that you're much better than that."<p>

I glowered, still unwilling to bend my pride enough to tell him about my condition. He shrugged.

"Very well. Then I'm sure you can handle the next one on your own."

The only justifiable reason I could give for the next very, very stupid decision that I made in spite of my usually impeccable intelligence and judgement would be this: Mushrooms.

That is all.  
>I charged.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Well. This was even more pitiful than I had originally anticipated.<em>

_ With a snarl under her breath that sounded suspiciously like, "I hate you, asshole," she rushed forward without even raising her claws in defense or preparation to strike. The Mushroom immediately pushed her back, making large, predictable swings at her with its arms. In whatever craze or panic she was in, she stumbled and scrambled to avoid the monster. I was tempted to let her perish at the hands of the creature, but the orders from my master were still fresh in my mind._

_ I gave her another two minutes at attempting to defeat the Mushroom before I couldn't take it anymore and intervened._

_ A quick leap and a single slash at the beast, and it was over. The girl, sprawled on the ground, had a sufficiently bewildered and grateful look on her face before it returned to her usual sardonic smirk._

_ "How kind of you," she said lightly as I extended an arm to pull her up. She leapt to her feet with more grace than you would expect from someone so deathly afraid from Mushrooms for an unknown reason._

_ "This is the moment when you explain to me the reason for your incompetence," I stated bluntly. She glared at me for a brief moment._

_ "I..." She almost continued her statement before shaking her head stubbornly. "Just make a party with me and kill the Mushrooms. I'll stop bothering you afterwards. I _promise_."_

_ I cocked an eyebrow. Ordinarily, such an offer would have tempted me, especially seeing how much trouble the girl had brought me. But now my curiosity had been piqued._

_ "Tell me," I demanded, ignoring her flinch as a Mushroom rose from the earth. She shook her head decisively once more._

_ "Tell me," I growled, taking a step towards her and raising my claws, "or I refuse to help you." A vague feeling of fear began to show in her, eyes darting from side to side as if searching for inspiration as to how to escape from me. Seeing none, she let out a huge sigh, letting her arms fall to her side in a gesture of helplessness._

_ "Fine," she relented through gritted teeth. "I'm... it's just..."_

_ "Yes?" I prompted impatiently._

_ "... imallergictomushrooms."_

_ "What was that?"_

_ "I'm. Allergic. To. Mushrooms."_

_ The incredulity I felt from hearing that one statement must have been clearly evident on my face._

_ "It's not my fault, I was just born with this... this... _condition_," she hissed defensively, obviously taking my disbelief to her offense. "And before you ask why an allergy would make me so scared of a Mushroom, it's an extremely severe allergy."_

_ "... Will you die?" I questioned, wanting clarification._

_ A mumbled "yes" came from under her breath._

_ "This... this is..." I struggled for words to convey exactly how befuddling this piece of information was. "This is pathetic to the point of... I don't even understand."_

_ "Yeah, thanks," she muttered._

_ "... I suppose such a pitiful person does require my assistance," I relented, raising a claw. "I agree to form a party with you."_

_ "And please keep the fun-making of to a minimum," she added hopefully. I raised an eyebrow at her, half-smirking._

_ After all the trouble she's caused me?_

_ "No promises," I answered before slaughtering the nearest Mushroom._

* * *

><p>"Prick," I muttered. And then I kicked back and watched my trusty partner kick ass.<p>

* * *

><p><em>I gave a parting nod to Merchant Zach as the girl came away with her rewards of experience (which granted her a new level as well), fame, a few coppers, a Roumen Return Scroll, and a pair of Reo Boots. Finding a corner where the flood of people wasn't as strong, she bent down to pull on her new boots as I waited impatiently for her.<em>

_ "I've helped you complete your mission," I said tersely when she stood up again. "Am I free to leave?"_

_ "Uh, yeah," she replied, appearing distracted. "Unless Aisu specified how long you had to stick around or something."_

_ "Very well. In that case, I suppose that this is where we must part-"_

_ "Hey, rookie!" We whirled around in unison to find a stranger waving us over. Exchanging confused glances, the two of us made our way through the crowd._

_ "Silva Yin, right?" The cleric brushed a loose strand of his long, pale blue hair behind his ear and gave us an easy grin. "Merchant Pey and Blacksmith James have been asking for you. Got some quests, it seems."_

_ "Oh... alright," the girl said, seemingly somewhat creeped out at how a stranger recognized her. "Thanks for the message, I guess."_

_ The boy nodded with a friendly smile and turned to walk away before something clicked in my mind. The hair, tied in a low ponytail, and those black eyes... I only knew one person around like that._

_ "Sam?" I called out in surprise. He turned and blinked at me a few times before recognition flashed in his eyes._

_ "Zorark!" he exclaimed pleasantly. "It's been forever! I didn't recognize you at all!"_

_ "It has," I agreed, allowing a small smile onto my face. I clapped a hand on his shoulder. "How have you been?"_

_ "Exploring the land, taking a couple of missions," he laughed. "The usual. Only I got a bit injured from my last one, so I've been resting at Roumen for a bit, running some errands for the shopkeepers instead. It's an interesting experience, at least."_

_ "Injured?" Alarmed, I did a quick scan of my friend. There were no apparent wounds, but I knew best how crippled someone could be without any marks to show for it._

_ "I'm fine, trust me." He gestured slightly to his left arm. "It's just about healed. I'm planning on getting back to taking quests tomorrow."_

_ "Ah." Relieved, I allowed myself to relax and look around. To my surprise, the girl was nowhere to be seen._

_ "I saw Silva walk away a little while ago, if that's who you're looking for," Sam supplied helpfully. "I was pretty surprised to see you with her. You usually don't bother with rookies too often."_

_ "And you bother with them too much," I shot back, but I was smiling. Sam was very easy going, and it wasn't hard to maintain a good mood around him._

_ "Well, you know," he laughed. "Love helping out and all that. Speaking of which, seems like your rookie's come back."_

_ My scowl returned when I turned and saw that, sure enough, the girl was walking towards us with a frown that worried me slightly. Nothing good would ever come out of that expression._

_ "What is it this time?" I sighed. Best get it over with quickly._

_ "Went and got my missions," she muttered grudgingly. "Turns out I'll need your help for at least one of these."_

* * *

><p>The exasperated expression that crossed Zorark's face was priceless, but didn't lessen my annoyance at my predicament any.<p>

"More Mushrooms?" he groaned. I nodded, feeling as irritated as he sounded.

"What's wrong with Mushrooms?" I turned to the speaker, who was the stranger Cleric that had called me over earlier. Apparently he knew Zorark somehow, since I saw them conversing in a friendly manner before I approached them. I didn't even know Zorark _could_ smile.

Before I could shush Zorark, he opened his mouth and declared, "This useless girl is severely allergic to them."

If I had not been in total shock and disbelief, I would have sworn a rainstorm upon Zorark for so carelessly letting my secret out. Thankfully, his friend seemed more confused and concerned than scathingly dismissive, unlike Zorark.

"Is this true?" he asked, studying me.

I nodded curtly, unwilling to say much more on the subject.

"Well, I must admit that the condition is pretty rare," he said musingly. "But neither is it unheard of, although you're the first I've met. I hear they're researching a cure in Fungoild Village, a city on another continent..." Before I could launch into an interrogation about this cure, he gave a start and grinned at me unexpectedly.

"Sorry, I haven't introduced myself!" He laughed, a sound that was rather contagious as I felt a smile spreading over my face. "How rude of me. My name is Sam. I'm an old friend of Zorark's, if you haven't guessed already. We used to take a lot of missions together a while back."

"Nice to meet you, Sam," I said, offering a handshake. "I'm Silva Yin, as you already know. Just a rookie trying to find my way around, so it's nice to meet someone helpful like you."

"I'm sure Zorark has been plenty helpful," Sam chuckled, taking my hand. He grinned teasingly at the extremely unhelpful Thief in question.

Zorark merely grunted. "We should be off for your missions. The sooner I can leave, the better."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Well that's all that there is left. Kai and I might or might not continue this fanfiction. As of now it is looking as if it is indefinitely discontinued. Thank you fans for reading this piece of fiction! -Scykra


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